Ishmael Beah

I picked up the phone.

And she said, you cannot believe what happened.

And I said, what?

She said, I was just minding my own business, sitting on the veranda of my house, and these white people came by, and they had this book that had your picture in the back, and they wanted to take a picture with me.

So I went inside and dressed very nicely, and I took pictures with them.

And then a few weeks later, others came, and they just keep coming, and I just keep taking pictures with them.

You must be a really, really big chief over there where they are.

They just keep coming and asking.

And I said, well, I told you earlier I'd written this book.

She said, really?

OK, OK.

And so we were talking.

And then, of course, every time I spoke to my grandmother, she would ask me the question, have you found yourself a good woman that you're going to make some family of yourself?

Better yet, I want you to make me great grandchildren so that I can teach them everything that I've learned about life.

And I would say to her, well, I'm working on it.

And she would say, well, if you need any help, definitely I can help you.

And I said to her, grandmother, throughout your entire life in my childhood, you already taught me how to do that.

just based on who you are.

And so as she said this, and the phone line began to break a little bit, and I lost her.

The phone hang up.